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VA Short Sale BPO Too High

Posted by Kathleen Sheridan on July 31, 2011 at 6:44am in Short Sale Discussions

My short sale offer on a VA property was rejected because the BPO was much higher than anyone would pay. It was so high that the WF Negotiator countered our best offer with a price that was higher than current payoff. When I pointed that out, she cancelled the short sale.  The property is in poor condition, there were multiple offers, no one will go near the price that WF wants. 

 

Is there a way that I can appeal the WF decision, or do I have to tell the sellers that because of the BPO their only option is foreclosure? 

 

 

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Tags: Fargo, VA, Wells, sale, short
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Replies

  • Richard August 3, 2011 at 11:53am

    Hi Kathleen,

     

    You're certainly correct, untrained is a bad term.  What I was trying to say is, their assessment of the property should be deeper that the dimensions, which seems to be somewhat the norm in certain places. 

    A good analogy would be if I were a talent scout considering drafting a football or basketball player, my assessment of that player would go beyond the players physical dimensions.  It would also take into account the players speed, skills and what they can actually do on the field or court and, what has been done against the competition along with how good the competition was.

    Obviously, were looking at 2 different commodities, but the same should hold true for appraisals.  I think what it may often boil down to is time................in other words how many appraisals can one person get in a day?

  • Jeff Payne August 3, 2011 at 2:18am
    Kathleen, you are right on it!  Appraisers really need to know the entire picture.  Price strategy, showings at each price, number of offers, etc.   They really need to ask alot more questions than they do.  I have several appraisers that I talk with on a regular basis and they agree that appraisers just use the numbers and don't dig deeper most of the time.  They also tell me that MOST agents that they call and ask questions of rarely ever call them back and rarely are of much help which is sad.  I will STOP what I am doing to answer any and every question they have.

    Kathleen Sheridan said:
    I wouldn't say that appraisers in PA are untrained. They have to take a lot a courses and do an internship before becoming licensed. What they don't do is sell real estate, or review home inspections. They may be doing exactly what they are trained to do, but they are focused on measuring square feet, while not paying much attention to condition of the property or the neighborhood. The whole system could work better.

    Hi again Kathleen,

     

    It would appear from all the factors Wendy and Jeff pointed out that this problem with the VA is a lot deeper within its core.  It seems like a catch 22.  Before this economy gets through this real rough patch, there will be a lot more unnecessary VA foreclosures/ruined lives based on bad policies and untrained or ignorant appraisers.  The sad part is, it doesn't have to be.

     

    This is where the industry needs some realism and consistency.

  • Kathleen Sheridan August 2, 2011 at 3:40pm
    I wouldn't say that appraisers in PA are untrained. They have to take a lot a courses and do an internship before becoming licensed. What they don't do is sell real estate, or review home inspections. They may be doing exactly what they are trained to do, but they are focused on measuring square feet, while not paying much attention to condition of the property or the neighborhood. The whole system could work better.

    Hi again Kathleen,

     

    It would appear from all the factors Wendy and Jeff pointed out that this problem with the VA is a lot deeper within its core.  It seems like a catch 22.  Before this economy gets through this real rough patch, there will be a lot more unnecessary VA foreclosures/ruined lives based on bad policies and untrained or ignorant appraisers.  The sad part is, it doesn't have to be.

     

    This is where the industry needs some realism and consistency.

  • Richard August 1, 2011 at 5:51am

    Hi again Kathleen,

     

    It would appear from all the factors Wendy and Jeff pointed out that this problem with the VA is a lot deeper within its core.  It seems like a catch 22.  Before this economy gets through this real rough patch, there will be a lot more unnecessary VA foreclosures/ruined lives based on bad policies and untrained or ignorant appraisers.  The sad part is, it doesn't have to be.

     

    This is where the industry needs some realism and consistency.

  • Kathleen Sheridan August 1, 2011 at 3:30am

    Wendy, Richard, Jeff, 

    Thanks for your replies. You are confirming what I thought, but had to ask before I tell these sellers that foreclosure is their only option at this point. Waiting for the 6 months to be up is not an option.

     

    I feel particularly bad for the sellers in this case. We could have sold the property if they had put it on the market when they could no longer pay the mortgage. Unfortunately, they have been trying everything possible to keep the property, and being told by housing counselors that they could get help. 

     

    Now, if I take out all of the closing costs WF wants $58,000, $12,000 more that the highest offer. The closing net from the foreclosure attorney, no short sale, is $56,000, or $10,000 more than the highest offer. No one is going to make up that much difference on this property.

     

    We mostly see appraisers doing valuations for short sales in PA since agents can't do them for $. High appraisals, which don't take condition into consideration sufficiently, are my biggest problem when it comes to closing short sales. My experience with the VA appraisers who service this area is that they make every VA transaction a roll of the dice. This appraiser told the seller that their house wasn't worth anything!



    Wendy Rulnick said:

    VA appraisals stand for six months, unfortunately. Is you lower closing costs, it might help you reach the VA required net, which is 88.13% of appraisal. You also can get a gift letter from a relative of the vet to contribute to get to the required amount.
  • Jeff Payne August 1, 2011 at 1:52am
    I just had the same issue and did everything I could to contest the appraisal but had to wait out the 6 months to get a new appraisal.   VA needs to change their guidelines for sure. Imagine that an appraisal was done 3 months ago and it was high then, the appraiser could have used 6 month old comps then, so now you are stuck with values from 9 months ago. 
  • Wendy Rulnick August 1, 2011 at 12:27am
    Just an FYI - VA Compromise Sales do not use BPO agents, they only allow VA certified appraisers.
  • Richard July 31, 2011 at 10:38am

    Hi Kathleen,

     

    That's very unfortunate, especially after all the hard work.  Was the BPO a drive by or complete home evaluation?  Not knowing all the complete details I would say that something, or things in this property really has to really stick out in the actual value differences.  Or, just maybe this is an excuse for them not wanting to push this deal through.  That's one on the many problems with this industry, there's always somebody, somewhere wanting to play God. 

     

    What's wrong with challenging the BPO and submitting your own BPO/appraisal, contingent that you will recover the costs in your fees later?  Or, see if the buyer is willing to fund the BPO/appraisal, if he/she feels strongly about the property?  I'm not an agent but, to me, it's a matter of deal or no deal, last chance or wasted months.  Is there anything unethical about if all parties agree?

     

    You know, I read somewhere on this site or a similar forum where a certain agent consistently ran into this very problem with another agent that was contracted to do BPOs for local lenders.  As it turns out, the BPO agent was consistently overvalueing all the properties in hopes of landing the listings from the lenders in foreclosure.  That's dirty!!  These are the people that needs to be ................, or a better term.......rat!  Needless to say, they trapped and caught him!

     

    If the property value is high for a certain reason, then duely note it, but don't use other motives.

  • Wendy Rulnick July 31, 2011 at 9:08am
    VA appraisals stand for six months, unfortunately. Is you lower closing costs, it might help you reach the VA required net, which is 88.13% of appraisal. You also can get a gift letter from a relative of the vet to contribute to get to the required amount.
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